Don't Read Jimmy Carter's New Book (just read this)

Jimmy Carter is a self proclaimed "born again" and "evangelical" Christian. In his latest book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, President Carter goes deep on his religious background in order to gain credibility as he attacks the current administration for crossing the separation of church and state line. I think he does a good job of this, but for my personal preference, he goes way too deep on the subject of religion.

That said, there are several interesting things to gleen from his book. Save his extreme religious beliefs, his book reads with the rich flavor of a man committed to America and what I believe we should stand for: embracing the moderate majority.

"The irresolvable differences of opinion on abortion, homosexuality, and other sensitive social issues have been exacerbated by the insistence of intensely committed hardliners on imposing their minority views on a more moderate majority." Well said Jimmy.

Of note, Jimmy Carter is a Naval Academy grad, as is my father, LCDR Michael J. Foley. While President Carter served on submarines during peace time, my father served two tours in Vietnam, flying A-4s off of aircraft carriers. I bring this up only in the context of pride and recognition. I believe it to be important to honor those who have risked their lives serving to keep this country free and to help troubled nations when the UN believes help is needed. His military background is just another piece of credability afforded to President Carter as he condemns the current administration.

Couple of thought provoking excerpts from the book:

On gun control: "A disturbing change in government policy has involved th firearms industry. Supported by succeeding Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, legislation was passed by Congress in 1994 that for ten years prohibited the manufacture, transfer, and possession of nineteen specific semiautomatic assault weapons, including AK-47s, AR-15s, and UZIs. None of these are used for hunting - only killing other humans. More than eleven hundred police chiefs and sheriffs from around the nation called Congress and President Bush to renew and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban in 2004, but with a wink from the White House, the gun lobby prevailed and the ban expired."

Of note, JC is a big hunter, and supports Americans' right to bear arms, but is obviously frustrated that the NRA and gun manufacturers have such a powerful lobby... again the whole vocal minority misrepresenting the interests of the majority. I was unaware that this ban had expired and now share JC's frustration.

On religion in Politics: "Some prominent Republicans have also become deeply concerned about the extraordinary influence of religious groups in their political party. John Danforth, who was an Episcopal priest before representing Missouri in the U.S. Senate, published and editorial in the New York Times (April 2005) that said:

"Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of the Conservative Christians. The elements of this transformation... are parts of a larger package, an agenda of positions common to Conservative Christians and the dominant wing of the Republican Party... The problem is not with people or churches that are politically active. It is with a party that has gone as far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement... As a Senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around."

Amen Rev. Danforth. Amen.

The rest of the book talks of several other issues: the death penalty, sexism, the environment and so on. Again, however, with chapters like "Would Jesus Approve of Abortions and the Death Penalty" and "Must Women Be Subservient" (where he answers that question by quoting Bible Scholars and the Holy Sciptures)... I found the book to be a little too evangelical for my taste.